Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 - Health and Safety

In October 2013 the Act amended the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.  Civil liability for breaches of Health and Safety duties.

What are the changes and what do they mean to you as an Employer?

In October 2013 the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 amended part of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to try to relieve the fear of being sued by employees, thereby over complying (in some cases) with the law which results in unnecessary additional costs.

Before October 2013 employers could be liable to pay compensation to employees for health and safety cases, even when there was nothing that the employer could have done to prevent injury and all REASONABLE steps had been taken.

The Act has changed this and thereby will help businesses by limiting the right to claim for compensation to only where it can be proved the business was negligent or acted negligently.  This means that employers now have the opportunity to defend themselves on the basis of taking or having taken reasonable steps to reduce the risk of any accidents occuring.  The Government hope that this will provide reassurance to businesses, allowing them to focus on managing health and safety risks in a sensible and proportionate way.